Chandler Outpoints Morgan For 2nd Title Lehigh Valley Masters Bowling

November 25, 1985|by AUDREY GABLE, The Morning Call

The 27th annual Lehigh Valley Masters Tournament concluded in grand style last night at Boulevard Lanes as Al Chandler of Slatington defeated George Morgan of Allentown in the televised finals 751 to 704.

In addition to being the highest scoring finals in the history of the event, it was the first time ever that two previous champions met for the championship.

The 50-year-old Chandler breezed through the field from the winner's bracket, lulling his six opponents to sleep at times with his cool steady stoking ability on the lanes.

Morgan, on the other hand, battled his way into the finals from the losers' bracket, downing 10 consecutive foes after losing the initial round of match play.

During every match he had the extra pressure of knowing if he lost he would be eliminated from the tournament.

Going into the title match there was an extra bit of irony as Chandler had won his initial Masters title from the winners' bracket in 1981, while Morgan a two-time champion, had won his first Masters title from the losers' bracket in 1972 after dropping a match in the first round of match play.

In the first game of the championship round, Chandler opened with a triple, but Morgan quickly countered with a six-bagger in the second through eighth frames. It looked as though Morgan would have a decisive lead after the first game but an 8-10 split in the ninth for him and a four-bagger for Chandler only gave Morgan a one-pin edge 236-235.

Both players strung seven strikes in the middle of the second game but the decisive factor was that Morgan had opened in the first frame with a 5-7 split. Chandler also broke up a 4-6 split in the 10th to come out on top with a 12-pin advantage going into the final game after taking the second game by 258-245.

Neither player would let up in the beginning of the third game with each rolling the first three strikes. Morgan faltered slightly in the fourth and fifth leaving the 3-6-10 and 10-pin spares which he easily converted. Chandler tripped the five-pin forward in the fourth frame, much to the amazement of the crowd, left a 10-pin in the fifth, and proceeded to throw the next three strikes.

Going into the last two frames Morgan knew if he struck out he would still have a chance to force another three-game match for the title and win an unprecedented third crown should Chandler open in the 10th.

But it was not to be as Morgan failed to get the first strike in the 10th and shot 223. Chandler then struck out in the final box for a 258 to clinch his second title.

In all, Chandler recorded 26 strikes to Morgan's 21 in the final match.

Chandler became only the third bowler in the history of the Masters to win two titles. The other two are Morgan who won in 1972 and 1983 and Neil Brown of Hazleton who was victorious in 1969 and 1971. It was also the first time ever that a bowler shot a 700 series in the finals and lost!

Also of interest was the fact that both bowlers averaged higher than they had in their previous championships.

When Chandler won in 1981 he averaged 211 while this year he averaged 218 for the entire tournament (including qualifying) and 224 for 21 games of match play. Morgan on the other hand averaged 214 in 1972 and 208 in 1983 to win his titles, while this year he averaged an astonishing 221 for 46 games (including qualifying) and 224 in 36 games of match play.

In addition, 12 700's were recorded during the tournament, just three short of the record of 15 posted in 1979. Of those 12 700's three were rolled by Morgan and two by Chandler.

Incidently, Chandler rolled his first 700 earlier in the day to remain the only bowler in the winners' bracket by defeating Carl Luckenbach of Coplay 729-679. Chandler rolled games of 246-260 to Luckenbach's 223-197, but Luckenbach made a valiant effort to come back by rolling a 259 finale, but came out on the short end of the stick 729 to 679 to eventually finish third, losing to Morgan in the losers' bracket final.

Thus Chandler took the easy route to the title by only having to roll two matches for the win yesterday. And he averaged a blistering 246 for those six games!

The event went smoothly as usual due to the dedication of the able Masters committee members. An enthusiastic crowd was on hand for the history-making final match.

Sponsors of the tournament were Stroh's, Boulevard Lanes, GebhardtBowling Supply, The Morning Call, and Twin County TV. A re-broadcast of the finals can be seen Friday at 10 p.m. on Twin County Cable TV Channel 4.